Democrats are still holding out hope that they will be able to finish both a continuing resolution and a tax bill before the House shuts down for election season, whether that date is at the end of this week or the end of next week, as has been the plan. House Democratic leaders are scheduled to meet tomorrow among themselves and, separately, with Senate leaders. It should become more clear after those meetings whether they intend to go home earlier than anticipated.

Looks like NASA needs to be agreed no later than the tax bill for clear direction to be given.

“It is a great pleasure to see progress being made in Europe in the field of space exploration relying on key technologies developed for human spaceflight.”, affirmed Mrs. Di Pippo, ESA Director for Human Spaceflight.

“As we prepare ourselves to join the US, Russia and Japan in the decision to utilize the International Space Station (ISS) for ten more years and beyond, we are preparing the next steps and we are working to position Europe at the level of its competences and capabilities within the global exploration undertaking. With a strong and successful presence in LEO, the Moon is the next natural goal on our common path to further destinations. Europe is actively and successfully present in these global projects, like ISS and exploration, which contribute to affirm our role as a modern, dynamic and innovation-driven continent.”, she added.

"They haven't worked out anything yet, and that's a dangerous situation," said Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, the top Republican on the science committee and an ardent supporter of NASA. "I have preferences for what I want, but I'll take the House bill. I'll take the Senate bill rather than no bill."

The implication of a 'clean CR' is that there would be no explicit language on NASA funding, so the FY10 numbers would apply for the duration of the CR. The implication of coming back to this during the lame duck session is that the first CR would last until sometime in mid/late November.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer knocked down reports today that the House could shut down at the end of the week to enable members to return early to their districts to campaign for reelection.

“I don’t know where they report came from and the answer is no,” Hoyer, D-Maryland, said. “My view is we’re going to be in session next week. You know the Senate has got to take up the [Continuing Resolution] and I don’t think they’re going to take up the C.R., and if they get it to us this week, fine. But I think we’ll be in. We’re going to be in next week.”

At a briefing with reporters this morning, Hoyer blitzed through an ambitious to-do list to tackle before adjournment, including a NASA Reauthorization bill , the Child Nutrition Bill, and the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The House is currently targeting adjournment for October 8, although the majority leader would not commit today to returning for the week of October 4.

That part is still under discussion, but at this stage I would say it would most likely be either the House bill with modifications that bring it closer to the Senate or agreeable to the Senate (because anything else would be dead-on-arrival in the Senate, and even THAT might be if only ONE Senator were to object) or the Senate bill, as passed by the Senate, with no amendments, and sent directly from the House to the President--who, I am certain, would sign it. Anything they do, given the compressed schedule available, will likely have to be under suspension of the rules, which allows no amendments from the floor.

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Offering only my own views and experience as a long-time "Space Cadet."

The CR will NOT contain any new money or new language guiding NASA. Without an enacted authorization/policy bill, signed by the President, things will continue JUST as they have been, with the Constellation funding restricted, impounded, whatever you want to call it, but held back from the contractors, just as it has been for the past six months. That means even longer delays in ending the uncertainty, more unnecessary layoffs and disruption of lives and careers, and I just don't see that as a viable option. At least with an enacted bill, and the President's signature, that officially reverses the policy of the Administration and there would be NO BASIS for continuing the financial squeeze on resources needed for new HLV development. And with an enacted LAW, there would be ample basis for congressional oversight to ensure NASA compliance with that direction regardless of the level and allocation of resources in the CR. There would also then be a legal basis for pressing for new directive language in the follow-on to the CR, whether it is another CR for the balance of FY 2011, or an Omnibus appropriations for 2011, which would reflect the combination of Budget Requests in some areas and enacted authorization levels in other areas, such as NASA.

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Offering only my own views and experience as a long-time "Space Cadet."

WASHINGTON — Congress isn't expected to make spending decisions about NASA until after the election, lawmakers said Tuesday.

« Last Edit: 09/22/2010 01:40 PM by Chris Bergin »

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The Juno spacecraft arrives at Jupiter this August, OSIRIS-REx launches on a journey to asteroid Bennu in September and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out in movie theaters this December. 2016 will be another awesome year for space and sci-fi nerds everywhere!

This could easily be the worst of all possible worlds, no matter what your view on the next path NASA could take. No one is going to risk making any big strides or taking any big decisions when the overall direction could change as early as the start of next year. So, we'll just have the various CxP sub-projects spinning their wheels as bits of infrastructure disappear and the gap gets ever wider.

At this rate, commercial will win by default because it is going to be the only thing still seriously in development.

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"Oops! I left the silly thing in reverse!" - Duck Dodgers

~*~*~*~

The Space Shuttle Program - 1981-2011

The time for words has passed; The time has come to put up or shut up!DON'T PROPAGANDISE, FLY!!!

This could easily be the worst of all possible worlds, no matter what your view on the next path NASA could take. No one is going to risk making any big strides or taking any big decisions when the overall direction could change as early as the start of next year. So, we'll just have the various CxP sub-projects spinning their wheels as bits of infrastructure disappear and the gap gets ever wider.

At this rate, commercial will win by default because it is going to be the only thing still seriously in development.

The funny thing is (though it's not funny), that commercial DOESN'T win. Nobody does. Many lose, and that's the unnecessary part.

I 'could' see a silver lining in a CR, but not at the expense of so many & so much; it's not worth it. Some in the workforce may just move on to other projects, leaving a huge empty space (excuse the pun) which use to be a developing capability.

And remember, this isn't JUST about BEO, or the jobs, or the skilled workforce (which is still the biggest portion in my view), it's also about the ISS as well. This does nothing to secure it's future, or more to the point, puts it in jeapordy.

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Remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our rights & freedoms, and for those injured, visible or otherwise, in that fight.

Commercial plus depots is one of best options. If you don't all go crazy with cost plus contracts and allow projects to run and allow contractors to milk government money without ever having to deliver.

Remember there are two separate functions in play. One is authorizations and one is appropriations. There has to be a CR, in order to continue funding for ALL those agencies, not just NASA, whose separate appropriations bill has NOT yet been passed by the House and Senate. It's not a choice between a CR and something else. But the CR, if it's what they call a "Clean CR", means that there is no language directing different spending authority than that already in place. It would take an enacted (i.e., passed by both Houses and signed by the President) to provide a changed set of policies and priorities for NASA. Without it, under a clean CR (which is what is expected), the layoffs continue, no real work gets done in the direction of a new HLLV, whatever the design concept, and, in all likelihood, LON goes away and complete shuttle termination/eradication remains the agency focus. I don't see how that helps anyone, except those who prefer those outcomes anyway.

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Offering only my own views and experience as a long-time "Space Cadet."